shadow

Will Anything Do?

“So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to him.And when he had come near, he asked him, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?”He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.” 
Luke 18:40-41, NKJV

A blind beggar sat beside the road near Jericho. When he heard people approaching, he was told, “Jesus is passing by.” The beggar cried out to him for mercy, but those accompanying Jesus said, “Be quiet.” The blind man was desperate. He was not about to let the one able to heal him pass by. He hollered even louder. Jesus stopped. He stood still and asked for the blind man to be brought to him. When others reached out to lead him, the beggar dropped his outer garment and ran to Jesus.

“What do you want me to do for you?”  Jesus asked.

“Lord, I want to see.” 

He spoke. “Receive your sight. Your faith has made you well.”

Immediately, the blind man could see. He followed Jesus out of the city glorifying God. Those that witnessed the miracle glorified him too.

What a beautiful account of our compassionate Savior. Yet, when reading the story, I thought it odd that Jesus stood still. Wouldn’t it have been easier for everyone, if he’d simply walked over and healed the blind man?

I’ve lived through times of extended trials when I’ve wanted to pound my fist and say, “Jesus, don’t just stand there—do something.” Perhaps, you’ve had those moments too.

Our daughter has Down syndrome. While growing up, she was outgoing and talkative, but around the age of twenty-six, her personality changed. She became despondent and withdrawn. No one in the medical community had answers for us—only educated guesses and an abundance of medications which worsened her condition.

We held out hope for years that our daughter would return to her previous self. “Why are you standing there, Jesus? Why don’t you do something?” We live with a new normal now. Jesus didn’t move as we had hoped, but he did move.

We’re grateful our daughter is no longer despondent. By God’s loving mercy and grace, she’s happy—without the aid of medications. She still talks very little and seldom initiates conversation. Not because she can’t. She simply chooses not to. When there’s something she needs or wants, she prefers to point. That’s when we insist, “Use your words.”

So why does Jesus stand still? Perhaps, so we’ll see our need for his mercy. It’s in times of desperation that we exhibit a profound faith in his ability to meet our needs, drop all that hinders, and run to his side.

Jesus asks, “What is it you want me to do for you?” 

Don’t let him pass by. Use your words. If Jesus doesn’t give you what you want, I can assure you, he’ll give you something far better. He’ll give you what you need. Now that’s a reason to praise him.

Go ahead. Don’t just stand there. Use your words.

Blessings,

Starr

Good Intention—Bad Idea

“They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart.”
2 Samuel 6:6. NIV

In 1885, Karl Benz gave our world the first gasoline powered automobile, and manufacturers have tweaked his confounded contraption ever since. More than three-quarters of a century later, Ford Motor Company tried to rally baby boomers with the slogan, “Ford has a better idea,” and replaced the “o” in Ford with a light bulb to symbolize inspiration and encourage sales.

Free enterprise has made our nation great, but a product that has “new and improved” stamped on its package doesn’t always mean it is. How often have you tried a new and improved version only to return to the tried and proven one? Some things are so timeless, recognizable, and ingenious that it doesn’t make sense to try and improve them. It’s hard to perfect the paper clip, a #2 pencil, Post-It-Notes, chap stick, or the fork and spoon—although some have made a stab at it with the spork. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

During the reign of Israel’s King Saul, the Ark of the Covenant (a gold-covered wooden chest made to house the Tablets of the Law and seat the Glory of God) rested in the home of his son Abinadab. When David became king, he vowed to return the Ark to the Holy city of Jerusalem. Instead of the Levites carrying it with poles on their shoulders as God had initially instructed Moses (Exodus 25:12-14), they attempted to transport the Ark by a Philistine method and placed it on a new cart. When the oxen stumbled, Uzzah, the son of Abinadab, took hold of the Ark to steady it. Instantly, God in his anger struck him dead with fire.

Whoa! God’s response to Uzzah’s good intention seems harsh, but no matter how innocent, his irreverent act violated God’s command not to touch the Ark. Thankfully, we live in the day of God’s grace, or any one of us could go the way of Uzzah. “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” (Romans 6:15). We must continue to revere God and honor his Holy ways.

When was the last time you failed to heed God’s instructions? Became impatient with his timing? Tried to help him out? For me—it’s not been that long. 2 Samuel 6 with its “hands off” message quickly came to the forefront. Regardless of what I thought—I didn’t have a better idea.

I heeded God’s warning. Not because I feared an untimely demise, but because I knew meddling would hinder the work of the Spirit in my situation and result in the death of God’s best.

No matter how good our intentions, attempting to tweak perfection is always a bad idea.

-Starr Ayers

Love Much?

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” 
John 13:35, NIV

Several months after my mother died, I found on the bush beneath her bedroom window the winter beauties pictured here. I brought them home and placed them in a bowl that had belonged to her mother. Among all of our Christmas decorations that year, there was none more beautiful than the “Empress of Winter.” Chinese tradition conveys that a camellia’s perfectly symmetrical form symbolizes the expression of long-lasting devotion.

Shortly after my mother’s death, someone asked me what one word I would use to describe her. “Devoted” immediately came to mind. Her children and grandchildren were her focus, and she always signed her cards to me …

Finding the camellias a few months after my mother’s death not only served as a timely reminder of her life-long devotion to her family, but they reminded me of my Heavenly Father’s eternal love.

Scripture tells us that because God loved us, “he gave.” He gave what was most dear to him—his only Son, Jesus (John 3:16). There was no price too great to pay as a ransom for our souls. He gave his all.

We find one of the most beautiful stories of devotion in Luke 7—the account of the sinful woman who washed Jesus’s feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, then kissed and anointed them with expensive perfume. She expressed her worship in the presence of self-righteous Pharisees who thought her unworthy of giving such an extravagant gift. To them, the gift held far more value than the woman who gave it. They saw the breaking of the flask and the spilling of the precious oil as wasteful, but Jesus saw her heart—a heart broken and emptied—one filled with repentance for a wasted life. Jesus defended the woman and forgave her sins because “she loved much.” She had given him her all.

Jesus taught that the secret of devotion is to love much. In the United States, we see much love expressed on Valentine’s Day. Even before the last of ole St. Nick is packed away, all things “love” pop up on store shelves. This heart-shaped frenzy results in the exchange of 1 billion cards in the United States alone, 50 million roses sent, 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates sold, and enough candy hearts made to stretch from Valentine, Arizona to Rome, Italy and back again. Now that’s a whole lot of love but not the “much” of which Jesus spoke.

Who are we devoted too? We’ll find our answers laced with actions. The more devoted we are to someone, the more we’ll give of ourselves in ways beyond disposable tokens given on holidays alone. We’ll empty our hearts. We’ll give our all every day of the year.

May it be said of us, “Because God loved, they loved much. They gave.”

Starr Ayers